There were staff cuts, modest funding increases and multiple references to “efficiencies” - so far, so normal for Canberra’s national institutions when it comes to the federal budget.
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But the National Gallery of Australia emerged as the big winner on Tuesday, with a $16.6 million grant to upgrade the 40-year-old heritage-listed building that houses the national collection.
The funds will be spread over three years, and will be used for capital projects, including improving the building’s climate control, fire safety and security infrastructure.
Director Gerard Vaughan said the funds would allow the gallery to introduce “best-practice global standards in building and security infrastructure to safeguard the national collection into the future”.
He also revealed that arts minister Mitch Fifield would provide another $4.9 million this financial year to support these projects, making a combined total of $21.5 million.
“The NGA’s building committee is implementing detailed plans for this three-year project,” he said.
These will include updated lighting, windows and skylights to ensure the building’s humidity remains at the right levels to ensure the safety of the collection.
At the other end of scale, both the National Library and the National Archives were singled out for job losses, with 12 and 10 staff to be cut respectively.
The archives in particular received a 1.3 per cent funding cut, while $1.8 million will be culled from its budget over the next five years as part of $20.3 million worth of “efficiencies” from the attorney-general’s portfolio that will be redirected to “repair the budget and fund policy priorities”.
Liberal MP Ben Morton, who is chairing an inquiry into Canberra’s national museums and galleries, said this latest round of job cuts would raise several questions.
“I’m not the government, I’m the chairman of the parliamentary committee, and we’re very keen to have a look at whether the institutions have the resources they need to fulfil their objectives, and this inquiry will be an opportunity for that,” he said.
But Labor MP Gai Brodtmann, who initiated the inquiry and is serving as its deputy chair, described the cuts as “sustained attacks” on Canberra’s national institutions.
“It's a complete and utter disdain and contempt for our national institutions, for our national capital, for Canberra,” she said.
“My concern is that it has an effect on how we tell our national story, how we share our national history, how we collect, collate, preserve and show national identity.”
